An Egg-cellent Pinata

I remember learning to make piñata’s in grade school and thought it would be a fun addition to our family’s annual Easter get together. While very patiently watching it dry, my son Corey has asked, “Can I hit the piñata now?”, at least 30 times .This is one egg that every kid would love to crack open!

To make one at your house, you’ll need:

Newspaper

1 large latex party balloon

tissue paper

#2 pencil

white craft glue

craft wire

flour and water.

Cut your newspaper into thin strips. It’s a good idea to lay down plastic or paper to protect your work surface.

In a bowl mix equal parts of flour and water. I used 1.5 cups flour and 1.5 cups water.

Blow up your balloon until firm but not so tight it will pop too easily. Dip paper strips into flour paste.

Wipe off the excess paste.

Lay the strips on the balloon, overlapping them to cover the balloon entirely.

You’ll want to place the strips of paper in the same direction for each layer. Once you have completed a layer, switch the direction of the strips for the next layer. For example: if your strips are vertical in the first layer they should be horizontal in the second. Repeat this process until 4-5 layers have been placed.

Put your wet pinata in a safe place and let it dry for 24 hours. It is a good idea to flip it half way thorough drying since the side that’s down tends to stay damp. Don’t place directly on a heater, because if it gets too hot the balloon will pop and the pinata will collapse. Ask me how I know this.

Time to decorate! You can purchase tissue paper squares or you can cut them yourself. Keep in mind, the larger the squares- the less time it will take to cover the entire pinata. I purchased 1/4 inch squares from my local craft store for just a few dollars. Although it took a while to cover the pinata I really liked the look and coverage I got by using the smaller squares.

Take a tissue square and wrap it around the eraser section of the #2 pencil. You can double-up the squares for a fuller look if you’d like.

Dip the pencil end of the paper into glue and press it onto the pinata.

Repeat in whatever pattern you like until the entire pinata has been covered. I was feeling stripey today.

Using craft wire press the ends of the length of wire through both sides, looping up over the top of the pinata, to create a handle to hang it from. Now fill it with your favorite Easter treats and let the kids have a crack at it!

Michelle, Attaching the handle was pretty easy, I made sure I was down at least a few inches from the top on each side and pushed jewelry wire through leaving the ends on the inside. I made a knot on the inside with the wire, and then reinforced with duct tape. Good luck sounds like a really fun party. You could also use twine instead of wire!

Ironically,I have made one for my friends son who is turning 2 on Sunday,the 20th March.I am still confuse on how to make a hole in it to fill with sweets,Grate idea of the tissue paper,never thought of that,as I already sprayed it,But will deffanately use the tissue paper.I thought of making the hole,fill up with sweets,and the close it again with newspaper and paste.

Happy Birthday to your little boy! I have 2 little boys and they fill my life with mischief and joy. When I made mine, I left a small hole at the top so I had a place to fill candy and pop the balloon when the paper was completely dry. I attached jewelry wire to each side and leaving a loop at the top so I could hang it from the tree. Once I put the candy inside, I never covered up the hole. Leaving the top hole exposed didn’t cause any type of problem during the actual bashing of it. If you are concerned that the goodies will fall out, you could cover it with duct tape and then use cute washi tape cover the ugly tape! Or if you spray painted it you could also just spray over the tape.